Monday, May 9, 2011

Last week, we had a bit of a preview of summer: ~90 degree Fahrenheit weather, cloudless, sunny skies, and mild nights when you don't need a long-sleeve shirt to go outside. It was even warm enough to have a midnight picnic out on the roof of our garage, which was pretty awesome because we snaked an extension cord from the house to the roof, moved an Ikea coffee table and a floor lamp out there, blasted Joni Mitchell from an open window, and sat, laughing and joking, on a blanket around a big spread of triple cream goat cheese and grapes and Piela Deen underneath the stars.

While warm summer-preview nights are a special treat, I often curse the hotter days during the daytime when I have to bike to and from school because who wants to arrive at class or at their meetings hot, sweaty, and coated with a layer of sticky grime? Elghk. Plus, I grew up in a different micro-climate around the Bay Area, where the weather really only rises above 80 degrees F for a few days out of the year. I like my 50-75 F range perfectly well, thankyouverymuch. So, on these days, the thing I look forward to the most is coming home from school, stowing the bike away, reaching into the freezer, and sucking down an ice cold packed-with-fruity-awesomeness popsicle. I love how it makes my core temperature say 'ahhhhhhhhhh' in great relief.

Just so I'm armed and ready for any more hot days the current micro-climate that I live in might throw at me, I've packed our freezer with these little beauts: kiwi and orange creamsicles--little ice pops with tangy kiwi puree, unadulterated fresh-squeezed orange juice, and sweet, creamy custard, layered thinly so that you can get every flavor together in one long lick. I also did the layers sort of haphazardly, pouring whichever one I felt like into random molds just so when unmolded, each one is a special little surprise. I can't help but squeal a bit every time I pop one out of a mold just to see the different patterns of layers. It's the little things like this that keep me happy. :-)

Anyways, you really shouldn't be too jealous of our weather here. This always seems to happen around the end of April and the beginning of May in parts of the Bay Area, but then we're cursed with grey skies throughout the month of June. Alas, you can't always have it all when it comes to the weather. But, you can always have popsicles ready and standing by.

1. Place 1/2 cup of cream in a small bowl with a fine mesh strainer on top. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the milk, the remaining 1/2 cup of cream, sugar, and salt. Bring to just a simmer.
3. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks until light.
4. Once the milk is simmering, pour a small but steady stream of the liquid into the egg yolks while stirring constantly to temper. Do this slowly while whisking quickly. Once the milk and egg yolks are combined, return to the saucepan and to the stove.
5. Heat the egg yolk and milk mixture while stirring constantly, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so that nothing burns or sticks. Slowly cook the mixture until it thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat immediately once it thickens.
6. Pour the hot custard through the strainer into the prepared cream and stir to cool. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
7. Chill the mixture thoroughly.

OMGoodness, seems Summer is on everyone's mind. I just went to the Asian market yesterday to buy some exotic fruit to make something similar:0 Yours looks so fantastic as usual and gorgeous photography too!!

Do you by chance live in Davis??? I just finished grad school from Davis and I felt the same way--I hated arriving to class or meetings covered in sweat! But it seems like that's what everyone does, so it's acceptable? So strange. I ended up taking the bus to avoid this. I'm from the South, and my momma would slap me if she knew I showed up to class all sweaty and gross. But it's normal in Davis, huh?

Sorry to probe into your life like that, but when I hear of anyone biking as their main form of transportation, I almost always assume they're UCD people :)

I totally forgot about June Gloom! I was hoping the clouds would be gone for a while. lol. Well I have only lived in the bay area for a year (not counting my 2 years at UCSC) and I am not used to the weather patterns yet. At least we will have a beautiful May. These popsicles look awesome! I love how you used paper cups and wrote the flavors on the sticks. I have had no luck with popsicle molds. Those cups are a great idea. Anyway, thanks for the recipe! My daughter will love making these.

I'm simply smitten with the colors in those pops. How cheery & beautiful. We haven't had much of a warm blast here yet, though I am awaiting. Your roof picnic sounds amazing! It makes me wish I had a garage roof so I could do the same thing, though with my level of clumsiness, it would probably be a bad idea.

What a gorgeous idea! Do to pops come out of the cup molds easily? Do you have to spray them first? At what point do you put the stick in? Looks delicious! One could use any combo of fruits, really. I'm definitely trying this out!

Looks wonderful! Completely inspiring for summer! Just to add to Shannon Marie's questions, when you say 'chilled' for the orange mix and the kiwi puree, do you mean freeze, or just in the refrigerator?

@Shannon Marie: The pops came out of the cup molds very easily--just a few seconds if you warm them up between your hands, or a minute or so if you leave them out on the counter. You don't have to spray them first with non-stick. If you're using plastic molds, you can run them under hot water, which should release the popsicles easily. I put the stick in after a few layers at the bottom had frozen already.

@Anonymous: Thanks for asking this clarification question! When I say "chilled," I just mean chilled in the fridge.

First of all, the photographs are beautiful. Secondly, I love the little cup idea. I made yogurt pops just yesterday and while they tasted great, they did not release from the molds well at all. I'm going to give your cup idea a try.

These photos are stunning! I stumbled upon your blog via another friend's blog! With our current hot weather going over here, your kiwi and orange creamsicles sounds wonderful!! I'm not sure if I can create these in miniature scale, but I'm just in awe with them!

@Shannon Marie: The pops came out of the cup molds very easily--just a few seconds if you warm them up between your hands, or a minute or so if you leave them out on the counter. You don't have to spray them first with non-stick. If you're using plastic molds, you can run them under hot water, which should release the popsicles easily. I put the stick in after a few layers at the bottom had frozen already.

@Anonymous: Thanks for asking this clarification question! When I say "chilled," I just mean chilled in the fridge.

I totally forgot about June Gloom! I was hoping the clouds would be gone for a while. lol. Well I have only lived in the bay area for a year (not counting my 2 years at UCSC) and I am not used to the weather patterns yet. At least we will have a beautiful May. These popsicles look awesome! I love how you used paper cups and wrote the flavors on the sticks. I have had no luck with popsicle molds. Those cups are a great idea. Anyway, thanks for the recipe! My daughter will love making these.